


Can't Slow Down

by kiddle



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drug Dealer Harry, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Humor, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Recreational Drug Use, Waiter Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-20 00:51:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7384462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiddle/pseuds/kiddle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>"We need to meet him on the other side of town." Harry pushed the door open, letting the cold night air hit them once again.</em><br/><em>"Fine. As long as I get my money."</em><br/><em>"You mean as long as you get my money," Harry corrected, turning to look at him with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Louis rolled his eyes. "Hey man, you wanted in on this. I didn't make you come. Actually, I'd much rather do it alone. You'll get half as long as you stop acting like an ass the whole time."</em><br/><em>"You're the one who took my bag. It's not my fault you fucked up. Not to mention you haven't been the most pleasant to be around either."</em><br/><em>"You aren't giving me much to work with."</em><br/><em>"Dick."</em><br/><em>"Twat."</em><br/>--<br/>Harry is a drug dealer who's bad at his job and Louis is a waiter at a late-night diner who's just trying to make it through university. After a bad first impression and an accidental bag switch, the two are forced to spend the whole night together trying to finish the deal and get Louis his textbooks back. As well as his half of the profit, of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Slow Down

Small puddles formed in potholes on the streets as rain fell in heavy droplets. The city lights reflected on the wet pavement as the hours dragged to night. Harry pulled his hood over his head to shield himself from the oncoming storm. He had some time to kill before he was supposed to meet the buyer at a club around the block. No matter how many deals he tagged along on, he couldn’t help but feel anxious about his first solo sale. He was told this guy was easier to deal with than most, at least. Besides, it was just a few pills, nothing too bad. All he had to do was go in, find the guy in the back room, make the deal, and get the money back to Hal so he could get his share. And maybe try not getting his ass kicked by screwing something up along the way.

Standing in the doorway of a late night diner, he examined the room to decide where to sit. It wasn’t styled like the 70s so much as it looked like it hadn’t been renovated since then. The black and white patterns covering the booths and stools gave it a fairly gloomy vibe. With that said, he couldn’t care less as long as they had coffee and he didn’t have to be outside getting soaked any longer.

The place was completely empty except for the cook he could see through the kitchen window and a young guy sitting at the counter writing in a notebook and sipping at a cup of tea. Deciding on the seat a couple of spaces down from the guy, Harry waited for a few moments, looking around for a waiter or waitress while taking in his surroundings.

"Hey,” he called towards the other boy, “does anyone work here?”

The boy looked up at him glumly then back down to his notebook, setting down his pen. He got up slowly, the stool squeaking as he turned, and walked towards the other end of the counter, lifting up the divider to get through to the other side. He grabbed an apron off a hook near the sink and tied it loosely around his waist.

“What can I get for you?” he asked, resting his hands on the counter and leaning forward to put his weight against them.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were-”

“Coffee?” he suggested before pulling a mug out from under the counter and placing it in front of him.

“Please,” Harry said and the boy turned to get the pot. He watched the boy’s small frame move between the two counters. His apron had to be tied twice around his waist and his narrow cheek bones poked out as he sucked in his cheeks while he worked. What showed his age was the hint of stubble grown out on his cheeks and along his chin. The slight rugged look suited him quite nicely. With sleeves rolled to his elbows, he poured the black liquid into the cup, steam flowing out from the sides.

“So what brings you here alone on a Sunday night?” the boy asked.

“Are you a bartender on the side as well? About to get me to reveal some pent up problem I've been waiting to get out?” Harry replied sarcastically with enough of a smile for him to know he was kidding.

"Actually it's my dream job. That’s why I’ve spent the last two years of my life in university.”

Harry let out a breathy laugh as he reached for the cream and sugar, trying not to make any sort of eye contact.

“Really though, I’m curious,” the boy pushed.

“Just trying to kill some time,” Harry told him, not about to admit why. He wasn’t exactly in the mood for talking, but he figured he might as well humor the guy.

The boy watched Harry’s hands while he poured the tiny cup of cream into his mug. At that point, the only sound in the diner that could be heard was the spoon clinking against the porcelain. Glancing at the place where the boy was previously sitting, Harry noticed a few open textbooks.

“What are you studying?” he asked, pointing to the books.

“Humanities,” the boy began sauntering towards the spot. “I should probably put this stuff away. I’m off in less than an hour anyway,” he said, closing the books.

“What about you? What do you do?” He added.

Harry thought for a moment, trying to come up with something believable enough. “I work at a pharmacy,” he decided on, grinning at the irony of the lie.

“Really? You look awful young for that. I would’ve thought you were younger than me.”

“How old are you?”

“20, how old are you?”

“18,” he said passively, taking a sip of the coffee. Immediately he noticed the bitterness from how strong it was, but he did his best to mask his dislike. It was lukewarm as well, which wasn’t surprising since he noticed the pot the boy poured from had been sitting out for a while.

“An 18-year-old pharmacist? Do you happen to be related to Dougie Howser?”

Harry drew his eyebrows together, “Dougie Howser?”

“Oh c’mon,” the boy replied, sounding stunned and retreating a step backwards. “The kid doctor? He was played by Neil Patrick Harris back in the 90s.” Harry just shrugged, still not catching on to the reference, causing the boy to shake his head in amused disapproval.

“I'm just an assistant actually,” Harry said instead, “part-time.”

“Interesting,” the boy paused, “I’m Louis by the way.”

“Harry.”

“Well, Harry,” Louis began as he tossed his backpack over the counter without aiming at all, letting it fall beside Harry’s feet. “Is there anything else you’d like?”

“Just the coffee is fine.” He offered a small smile as he took another drink, this time gulping down half of it in one go. Glancing at the clock on the wall above, he noticed that he only had about ten more minutes before he had to be at the bar. The anxiety began to build up and he could feel the rate of his heartbeat increase.

“Not very talkative are you, Harold?” Louis raised his eyebrows as Harry looked over the rim of his mug.

“It’s Harry. Just Harry,” he replied coolly.

“Harold is nice too. Could be like a nickname.”

“I don’t need a nickname,” he said, still trying to remain polite. With a gulp, he bit down, making the muscles in his jaw stick out. His stomach began to twist and turn and his chest tightened. When he got nervous, he wasn’t exactly comfortable interacting with anyone, especially someone he just met. All sense of humor drained from him and his mind was no longer there. Instead, it was off playing out the deal over and over, making sure everything would go right.

“Alright, mate. Just making conversation.” Louis put up his hands before grabbing his own cup and placing it in the sink to be cleaned. Harry sighed, realizing his stress might be getting the best of him. All he really wanted was some fresh air.

“I should get going, actually. ‘ve got somewhere to be in a few minutes anyway,” Harry said as he got up and returned his hood to its rightful place on top of his head.

“You look like you’re off to rob someone’s Nan like that,” Louis commented.

“See you later, Louis,” Harry said with a tight lipped smile and turned back towards to door.

Louis lifted the corner of his mouth. “Bye, Harold.”

Harry tried not to let the nickname bother him and he slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed out the door. It was funny, he didn’t remember it being that heavy before.

It took him a moment of weaving through anxiety as he walked down the road again to realize he never paid for his coffee. He supposed the waiter didn’t care so much, as he trudged through the heavy rain and dimly lit streets. If he did, he probably would’ve come running out after him.

There was something about Louis, however, that Harry found awfully appealing. He was annoying, sure. Maybe a little obnoxious as well, but Harry wasn’t blind. He could see how his bone structure matched perfectly with his kind eyes and soft smile. The blue in his eyes was piercing, almost intimidating, but once he saw them, it was difficult to look away. Although, none of it mattered he supposed. It’s not like he’d ever see him again.

The bar he was supposed to meet the buyer at was just as shabby as expected. The lights were dim making the room look tinged with pink and yellow. There weren’t very many people around, just a few small groups along the bar and crowding booths. As he made his way to the back room, he was pretty sure he spotted a few people doing lines on one of the tables. It wasn’t like he’d never seen drugs before- he sold pills for a living- but he’d never seen people doing them so publicly and out in the open.

Personally, Harry tended to stay away from anything stronger than weed. He’d done shrooms a few times and might’ve happened upon some ecstasy at a party once, but the hard stuff really wasn’t for him. He’d never even thought to test the product he’d been selling himself.

"This guy’s easy,” Hal, his supplier, told him earlier that day. He and Zayn had stopped by Hal’s apartment to pick up the stuff for the sale. Harry and Zayn were roommates while they attended college. Hal was their weed dealer through first semester and when they told him they were hard on cash, he promised he could help them out. Harry was more reluctant to get into the business, not having tagged along for a sale until at least a month after Zayn started, when rent was finally due, but once he was convinced, there was no turning back.

"He just buys for himself and his buddies. He might act like an asshole, but he’ s harmless, ” Hal continued.

"Do you really need us to go together? This doesn’t seem like a two person job,” Zayn spoke up, an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Well, unless you want to go on your own…”

“I think Harry’s good to go now. He hasn’t screwed anything up yet and, like you said, this guy’s easy.”

“You think you can handle it? One fuck-up and you’ re out. ” Hal warned.

He and Zayn talked about it earlier that day, how Harry needed to start making the deals on his own. If you tagged along, you only made seven percent. Sure, it was a fair amount of money, but he could be making more.

Harry looked up from the ground and replied timidly. “Yeah, I think so.”

It wasn’t until hours later when he walked through the curtains into the back room that he began to regret his decision.

The man, whose name he later found out was Niall, stared at him from the couch across. Hal was right about him not seeming intimidating. He was a fairly young guy, not much older than himself, with styled blonde hair and skinny jeans. To his right, however, stood a rather built man that behaved like a body guard, but was probably no more than Niall’s friend. He had a shaved head, but eyebrows so bushy the hair that was once on his head probably fell into them. The backpack was sat on the coffee table in between them, still unopened. Harry moved forward in his seat to reach for the zipper.

“So we still agree on 500 tabs for 7k?” Niall asked, making Harry pause.

“Hal said 10k. I can’t go any lower, he expects that much.” Harry's voice sounded stern even though it felt panicked.

“Alright, alright. We don’t want to have a problem here, do we?”

“Sorry, who’s the one with the illegal product here?” As soon as the words came out Harry widened his eyes. Niall’s eyes narrowed and the “body guard” cracked his neck in an attempt at intimidation. Clearly this guy was lacking a sense of humor.

“Don’t be smart with me, man. You really want to have to tell Hal you fucked up your first solo sale? Don’t think I don’t know about you. Zayn’s been selling to me for months. I knew you had to be new. Now, 500 tabs for 10k. Let’s make it happen so you can get your ass out of my club.”

Harry nodded with a gulp and opened the bag without hesitation. His fear from the outburst skyrocketed when, instead of pills, he was met with a bag full of textbooks and binders.

“What the hell?” he exclaimed, looking through the bag as if the bottles would be hiding somewhere near the bottom.

“I don’t have all day,” Niall complained.

“I, uh- I…” Harry was at a loss for words. He didn’t understand how this could happen. He was guarding that bag with his life. The furthest it had gone was below his stool at the diner.

“What is it?” Niall reached forward and grabbed the bag from Harry’s hands. He ruffled through it for a moment before looking back up at Harry. “What the fuck is this? Where are my pills?”

“I must’ve forgotten them at the-”

“What do you mean you forgot them?”

The memory of Louis tossing his backpack over the counter flashed through his mind. Both bags were black so he must have grabbed the wrong one on the way out. He felt like he was about to throw-up. Hal was going to kill him, maybe literally. That guy had quite the shady past so who knew.

“Listen, I have your pills. I just grabbed the wrong bag. Let me go back for them and I’ll bring them right to you.” Harry tried to reason.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Please, just give me 15 minutes.”

Niall’s face hardened while he considered, then he let out a deep sigh, “10 minutes. I have somewhere to be so if you’re not back by then, I’m out of here. No deal.”

“You got it,” Harry said before rushing out of the room, not wasting a second by looking back.

He pushed past a few bodies in the bar until he reached the front door. Once he was outside, he sprinted down the street, the diner in sight. He prayed that Louis was still there, seeing as his shift was supposed to end soon, but his prayers were quickly answered because before he was even in the restaurant Louis was already yelling at him.

“Oi, twat! Coffee isn’t free, you know.” There was a slight shrill in his voice as he stood behind the counter, eyeing Harry down.

“My backpack- do you still have my backpack?” Harry asked, catching his breath.

“You mean the one filled with pill bottles?” Louis raised his eyebrows. Harry flailed his hands in front of him in a panic, trying to shush him. There was now an old man and a small group of teenagers sat at separate booths that were easily in ear shot.

“C’mon man, I really need it,” Harry begged.

“Where’s my backpack?”

Realization hit him as he let out an exasperated sigh.

“I must’ve left it at the bar. I’ll bring it back to you, but please, just give me the bag.”

“Once you pay for the coffee,” Louis picked up the backpack and let it hang off of one finger. Harry grabbed at it, but Louis was quick to pull back.

“Fine, fine,” Harry pulled his last note from his pocket and slammed it on the counter. “Now give it.”

“Has anyone ever told you how bossy you can be?” Louis questioned making Harry groan in frustration. He glanced at the clock noticing he had four minutes left.

“Please, I don’t have much time,” the tip of his foot was now tapping against the floor.

“I also want half.”

“What?!”

“I know you’re making a deal. I’m a broke uni student and my morals don’t include refusing drug money,” Louis said smugly, still managing to keep his voice low, “I want half of what you’re going to get. If not, I could just make a pit stop at the police station to drop this off on my way home. Could say it was left at the diner. I think I saw your wallet in here with your ID too. Tell me, Harold, do you have a prescription for any of these pills?"

“That’s blackmail!”

Louis shrugged, unbothered by the accusation.

"Alright, alright, just give me the fucking bag!”

Undoing his apron, Louis tossed it on the counter and jogged towards the divider, backpack in hand.

“Let’s go.”

“You’re not coming with me,” Harry crossed his arms.

“I want to make sure I get my money. Plus, those textbooks were expensive.”

There was only one minute left and Louis was clearly too stubborn to budge.

“Come on then,” Harry huffed as they both ran out the door. The club took more than a minute to jog to so Harry hoped Niall was at least a tiny bit lenient. As they ran, they caught the odd glance from people walking along the pavement since the two of them weren’t exactly dressed in the attire for an evening jog.

“How much do you make from this, anyway?” Louis asked as he increased his pace.

“Thirty percent so three thousand.”

“Holy shit! I picked the wrong part time job.”

Of course Niall was gone by the time they got there. The bartender told them he and his friend/body guard had left about five minutes earlier. He hadn’t even intended to wait long enough for them to get back. Harry leaned against the counter, lightly pounding a fist on it in frustration.

“I’m going to be in so much shit,” Harry groaned.

“Isn't there a way to contact him? Just call him and say you’ve got the stuff now,” Louis suggested.

“I’d need his number for that. I don’t set up sales, I just deliver the stuff. Besides, I kind of pissed him off before I left anyway.” Harry slouched over the counter as bartender approached them again to ask for an order. Louis told her they needed another minute so she wouldn’t kick them out for not getting anything.

“Yeah, you haven’t exactly been killing it in terms of first impressions today,” Louis said, scratching at a carving in the wood on the counter.

“Well you sure have been,” Harry replied in a sarcastic tone. “Especially with the blackmailing and all.”

“And I stand by that. I’m not handing this backpack over until it’s being exchanged for cold, hard cash.” He patted the bag he placed on the side of the counter away from Harry.

“Alright then, wise ass, got any ideas? Because, as far as I’m concerned, without Niall, we are shit out of luck.” Harry ran a hand through his hair, pushing at all back before raising his hood over it again.

"What if we sold them on the street? I'm sure we could make the whole ten thousand if we both-"

"Wait a second. So you're suggesting we walk up to random strangers on the street and ask them if they want to buy prescription drugs from us? How exactly do you think this works? This isn't a 90s sitcom."

Louis scowled, offended by the comment, "Well excuse me for not adding Drug Dealing 101 to my course schedule this semester. I don't see you coming up with any ideas Mr. "Assistant Pharmacist"," Louis made quotations in the air. He had his body turned towards Harry trying to hold his attention as he sulked, staring at the wall ahead.

"Sorry, I'm just not good at this whole thing." He pinched the bridge of his nose. Louis' expression softened as he grew concerned.

"How'd you get this gig, anyway?" asked Louis.

"I'm a uni student too. My roommate and I have been short of money pretty much ever since the year started. I'm a first year and he's a third. We couldn't pay our weed dealer one day so he told us he had a way we could make some money. I was reluctant at first, but eventually I gave in and now here I am."

Louis nodded and was about to speak before Harry's phone started ringing in his pocket.

"Sorry, give me a sec," Harry said before bringing the phone to his ear.

"Hal?" He spoke into the phone.

"Actually, it's Zayn. And you should be thanking God too because Hal is pissed."

"Shit. Did Niall talk to him?"

"Yeah, he asked him to send me instead and meet him on the other side of town. Look, Harry," Zayn let out a sigh loud enough that Louis could probably hear. "I'm trying to stick up for you, but Hal is ready to kick your ass to the curb."

"I know, I know. Just tell him I'm sorry and I'll bring the stuff back to his apartment."

"Like hell you will!" Louis shouted, taking Harry by surprise. He pulled his phone down to his chest to cover the mic and mouthed "shut up!"

"Who was that?" Zayn asked in a heightened tone.

"No one. I'm still in this bar, some guys in the back are arguing," Harry lied.

"Alright, I'll just meet you at that club The Vault with Niall then and we'll make the sale together. You aren't quitting yet! I'll convince Hal to give you another shot, just meet us there in 2 hours. I'll text you the address, and for the love of God, don't be late."

"I'll be there. Thanks, man."

Harry hung up the phone and looked directly at Louis who seemed even more confused.

"Okay, let's get out of here," he said, pocketing his phone as he stood up. Louis followed close behind, trying to ignore the glare from the bartender as she poured a glass of bourbon over ice.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he rushed to collect the backpack and his jacket.

"We need to meet him on the other side of town," he pushed the door open, letting the cold night air hit them once again. "My roommate is going to be there too. If you still have to come, you're going to have to wait outside. They don't want anyone else to know what's going on."

"Fine. As long as I get my money."

 "You mean as long as you get my money," Harry corrected, turning to look at him with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Louis rolled his eyes. "Hey man- you wanted in on this. I didn't make you come. Actually, I'd much rather do it alone. You'll get half as long as you stop acting like an ass the whole time."

"You're the one who took my bag. It's not my fault you fucked up," he readjusted the strap on his shoulder. “Not to mention you haven't been the most pleasant to be around either."

"You aren't giving me much to work with."

"Dick."

"Twat."

They walked in silence for a few moments, neither enjoying the company of the other. Why did Harry have to get stuck with this guy out of all people? Maybe this was his punishment from some sort of higher power. He obviously knew what they were doing was illegal, he just hoped the repercussions wouldn't come so soon.

"So do you have a car or something? Where are we going?" Louis asked from a few feet behind him.

"Nope. We'll take a bus."

"It's almost midnight. Buses stopped running."

"Then we'll hail a cab. Unless you have a car?"

"Cab it is," Louis said, forming his mouth into a straight line. "Wait, do you have cash on you? My wallet is with your friend, along with my textbooks."

"Not my friend. And I should have some cash in my wallet. Let me have it out of the bag, will you?" Harry stopped and walked around to the bag on Louis' back. He unzipped the front pocket to retrieve the folded piece of black leather, only the back fold was empty.

"Louis, what happened to all my cash?"

Louis looked at him sheepishly, "When you didn't pay for your coffee, I thought I would just pay for it out of your wallet myself."

"Last time I checked, coffee doesn’t cost as much as a week’s worth of groceries."

"I figured I deserved a tip."

"Cut the shit and give me the money back," Harry demanded, feeling more frustrated than he had all night.

"Can't you just take some money out of the bank?"

"I'm technically unemployed. Do you know how suspicious it would be if I kept my money in a bank? C'mon, just hand it over."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's in my tip jar at the diner."

"So let's go back to the diner."

"It's closed. I don't have a key."

"You can't be serious." Harry rubbed his temples to soothe his oncoming headache. This was ridiculous. His job was to do nothing but swap a few bottles for some money. That was it. Now, he was stuck trying to find a way to get to the other side of town with some guy that was blackmailing him into giving him half the profit. At this point, he started to wonder if it was even worth it.

“I mean, we could-” Louis started.

“Who locked up? Can’t you call them to come open it for us? Tell them you forgot your bag or something. At least you wouldn’t be totally lying.”

“Oh yeah, because lying is where I draw the moral line,” Louis said sarcastically, leaning against the wall behind him and dropping the bag to the ground. “Besides, anything I say I forgot they’ll just tell me to pick it up in the morning.”

“What are we supposed to do then? Fuck!” Harry shouted, ready to punch the wall until he realized the brick would probably break his hand, or at least leave him with some bloody knuckles.

“Woah, Harold, calm down.”

“Why do you keep calling me that? Harry isn’t short for anything. It’s just Harry. That’s it.”

He turned and sank to the ground, his knees up against his chest. Louis did the same, watching Harry as he closed his eyes and threw his head back. With a short breath, Louis realized there was one more option.

“I think I have an idea…”

Behind diner and down a back ally was a pair of small windows, side by side. They led to the bathrooms and Louis claimed they were the only ones not alarmed. The reasoning was something about the owner figuring the bathrooms didn’t need any security. The windows were on the top half of the wall, the bottoms of them reaching about a foot above Harry’s head. On the one for the women’s room, the handle to open it was slightly loose, making it easy to swing open if you pulled on it right. The hard part would just be reaching it and getting through.

“Okay, get on your hands and knees,” Louis demanded, pointing to the road.

“But we haven’t even gone on our first date yet,” Harry smirked at his own joke.

“Well, at this rate we know there wouldn’t be a second, so why bother?” Louis replied smugly.

“Fine, but the ground is wet! It was raining all evening.”

“I’m sorry, let me get a towel for you to kneel on,” Louis mocked sympathy, “Oh wait, it’s midnight and we’re in the middle of a fucking ally. C’mon, don’t be a baby.”

“Alright, alright,” Harry gave in, stepping below the window and sinking down to his hands and knees. Louis rolled up the sleeves on his denim jacket while looking up to check the angle, then put one foot on Harry’s back. Holding on the windowsill, he pulled himself up and reached around the edges for the spot in the corner that would pop it right open.

“I’m in!” Louis announced.

“Good. Now get yourself physically inside the building,” Harry replied in a huff.

Louis reached in and tried to pull himself up, but he couldn’t get enough leverage since he wasn’t quite high enough.

“Okay, I’m going to need you to lift me up,” Louis decided.

“Lift you up? Why?”

“Just grab my legs and push them up!”

Louis got off Harry’s back so he could stand up. Harry scowled as he leaned down and wrapped his arms around Louis legs. Surprisingly, he was heavier than he looked, making Harry let out a grunt.

“Wait, just- Yeah a little more to the left. Okay, now take a step forward. No, I meant backward, forward for me. Why would I need to be further from the window?”

“Louis!”

“Okay, perfect.” Louis grabbed onto the wall, making a second attempt at getting through.

“I need to get a little higher.”

“How do you expect me to do that? Hold you by your ankles?”

“I don’t know! Just push me up.”

In an act of frustration, Harry put his hand underneath Louis’ ass and used all his body strength to push him through. Taken a bit by surprise, Louis’ eyes went wide, but soon he was inside and hanging from the opposite side of the wall in the dark bathroom. He dropped to the sink in front of him then hopped down the floor.

“We did it!” Louis cheered and Harry whooped from outside.

“Alright, now get the money from the tip jar,” Harry instructed.

Louis found the light and flicked it on before opening the door, making his way down the short hallway and towards the kitchen. It was odd, he’d never seen the diner completely dark. He hadn’t worked there long enough to be given a key to close the store himself. It was a lot creepier this way. While the bathroom light illuminated the hallway, there was another fluorescent light shining from the kitchen for the security cameras. He’d have a lot of explaining to do if his boss saw this footage.

Tip-toeing down the hallway, he stayed close to the wall and snuck around each corner. It took a moment for him to realize there was no one around that would actually warrant being sneaky. When he reached the front counter, he met by an open cash drawer and an empty tip drawer.

“For fuck’s sake,” Louis muttered to himself. He figured the cook, Danny, must’ve put the tips in the safe with the cash from the till when he locked up. That, or he stole the tips for himself. Either way, they still didn’t have any money to get across town.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a red flashing light near the front door. In a sudden moment of panic, he realized he forgot about the motion sensor and silent alarms. Rushing back to the bathroom, he climbed back onto the sink and out the window. Harry was waiting underneath the window, ready to help him down.

“We gotta get out of here!”

“What? Why? Where’s the money?” Harry asked as Louis grabbed his arm to jump down.

“The money wasn’t there and I set off the security alarms. The cops are going to be here any second. We have to go now!” Louis shouted, grabbing the backpack and already taking off down the street.

Harry tried to keep up with Louis' sprint, not even sure where they were going. They breathed heavy as their feet pounded on the pavement. In the distance, Louis swore he saw red and blue flashing lights. He turned down an alleyway, yelling at Harry to follow him.

Of course Louis didn't know when he made his quick decision, but part-way through the ally was blocked by a chain-link fence. He stopped in front of it while Harry decided his frustrations were better taken out by body checking it. Louis wondered if he always had a problem with violence against inanimate objects.

"Fucking hell!" Harry screamed, grabbing into the links and shaking it.

"I'm sure that will get it out of our way," Louis commented.

"We need to climb it," Harry decided as the police sirens drew nearer.

"Why would we do that? The police don't even know who they're looking for yet, we'd be fine as long as we stay here or walked down the street casually."

"I don't know about you, but I'd like to get as far from that diner as possible so I'm climbing it. If you don't want to fine, but if we separate, neither of us gets the money. My goal for tonight wasn't to get arrested for breaking and entering. Which, by the way, I was only an accessory to."

"Fine, I'll climb the damn fence," Louis looped the backpack onto his other arm and grabbed onto the metal while trying to squeeze his foot into one of the holes.

"We would've climbed it by now if you didn't have to question everything I do," Harry mumbled, beginning to climb beside Louis. The fence was cold on their fingers and still damp from the rain.

"Well, I don't remember asking for an essay response."

"If you consider that an essay I could only imagine how you're doing in uni."

"This coming from a guy who makes his money selling pills."

"Shit, hold on," Harry stopped suddenly.

"Why am I holding on? I'm almost at the top," Louis looked down at him.

"My foot is stuck. Just go to the other side and pull me up."

"A 'please' would be nice, Harold. You know, you seemed so well mannered when we first met."

"And you seemed like you wouldn't be such a pain in my arse."

Despite the bickering, Louis threw one leg over the top so he was straddling the fence and reached down for Harry's hand. He grabbed onto his wrist with the other and tried to pull. Harry winced as the cold fence touched his, now exposed, midriff.

"Wiggle your foot or something. Don't make me do all the work here!" Louis exclaimed.

Harry tried moving his foot around and pulling it away from the fence until he was suddenly free. The amount of strength Louis was using to try to pull Harry up was enough to send them both over the fence and tumbling to the ground. An unfortunate result led them face to face, Harry laying on top of Louis' sprawled out body, accidentally pinning him to the ground.

"This has been quite a night of bonding. I've never felt so close to you," Louis joked.

"Oh, shut it," Harry said, pushing himself up off of the ground, and Louis.

They stood up and Louis tried brushing off the dirt that was now all over his back from the wet road. He was unbothered, figuring it would dry fast. As they began walking further down the alley, two police cars zoomed by, sirens blaring.

"Happy now? We escaped the cops that weren't even after us."

"And they won't be if you call your boss and explain what happened before they get a hold of that security tape,” Harry said as he readjusted his shirt and hoodie.

"Oh yeah, good idea," Louis took out his phone and began searching through his contacts.

"And, uh, Louis?" Harry stopped walking.

"Yeah?" he asked, putting his phone to his ear.

"Thanks for, um, helping me. Get out of the fence, I mean." Harry only looked up for a second, feeling strange saying something so sincere to someone he didn’t exactly get along with.

"No problem," Louis smiled just before his boss picked up.

Harry stepped away for a moment while Louis took the call. As he leaned up against the cement wall behind him, he was starting to wonder if Louis wasn't actually as bad as he originally thought. Glancing to where he was talking with his back turned, Harry took a second to actually look at him. He was fairly small in frame, something he noticed when he first saw him, but side by side was only a few inches shorter than Harry. His hair was a light brown colour, feathered bangs swooped to the side. The bottom of the denim jacket he was wearing curved at the bottom of his spine where it met black jeans that hugged his legs quite nicely.

As Louis turned around slightly, phone still pressed to the side of his head, the streetlights hit his cheekbones just enough to highlight them perfectly and cast shadows over his face. When Louis noticed Harry was staring, he curiously mouthed the words 'you alright?' making Harry nod then quickly turn away. When Louis hung up and started to approach him, he felt riddled with embarrassment as if Louis had just heard every one of his inner thoughts.

"Gerry was pissed, but said it was fine and asked that I call him if I ever "lose my wallet” again, instead of finding my own way in."

"Oh, good. I was worried you might get in trouble."

"Really, now? You were worried about me?" Louis raised his eyebrows and cocked his head, feigning flattery.

"Alright, don't let it get to your head. Obviously I wouldn't want you to lose your job over this, even if you are the one who took the money and it was your idea to break in."     

"Come on, Harold, we were about to have another moment!"  

They began to stroll down the ally, still with no plan or any idea where exactly they were. It didn’t seem as horrible any more, at least. Sure, they were still stuck in a massive pit that they just seemed to keep digging deeper and deeper, but at least the company wasn’t so bad.

"Why do you call me Harold?" Harry asked out of the blue. Louis was taken off guard, expecting a retort, not a question.

"I'm just teasing you, Harry," he stretched the name. "Don't worry, I only tease the people I like."

***

Without money or access to any type of vehicle, Harry and Louis decided the best idea would be to walk in the direction of the club so at least they’d be that much closer when they finally thought of something. Surprisingly, in the half hour they walked, they only spent a small amount of it in silence. The rest of the time they managed to make small talk and actually get to know each other. Harry told Louis about how he’d been playing the guitar for about ten years and Louis expressed his lifetime love of football. They even found out they grew up in the same part of town. It was all trivial things that were easy to tell anyone, but they were stuck together for the next couple hours anyway. What else were they going to do?

Eventually, they ended up in a park that Harry swore was a short cut to get to The Vault. To get through it they had to walk along a long narrow path that led to a parking lot on the other end. Only one street light remained lit, not including the one in the parking lot. The whole park was basically just an open field with a small playground next to the path in the middle. There wasn’t even a tree in sight.

“Hey,” Louis put his hand out in front of Harry to stop him from walking. Harry turned to him nervously.

“What? Do you see something?”

Louis waited a beat before answering, purely for dramatic effect.

“I’ll race you to the swings!” he finished and took off towards the playground, feet stomping against the grass. Harry watched him for a moment, confused and slightly irritated.

“Louis, we don’t have time for this,” he groaned.

“Live a little, Harry,” Louis said as he reached the sand. He sat down on one of the two swings and pulled it back as far as he could before lifting his feet. Harry sauntered over and leaned against the railing beside a toddler swing.

“What are you doing?” Harry laughed, folding his arms.

"Swinging. What does it look like?” His eyes followed Louis as he swung back and forth.

“Are you sure this swing isn’t more appropriate?” Harry asked, pushing the toddler swing forward with one hand.

“Ha-ha. You’re a real riot.”

“Seriously, we have to keep going.”

“Wait,” Louis narrowed his eyes at the parking lot and dug his feet in the sand to stop the motion, “do you see that?”

“See what?” Harry stood up straight and turned to where Louis was pointing.

“That car. It looks empty.”

“So?”

“Maybe we can hot-wire it and just borrow it for an hour to get to the club,” Louis suggested.

“So on top of theft and breaking and entering, you want to add grand theft auto to the list of crimes committed tonight?” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not stealing! We’ll bring it back, obviously. And don’t list a bunch of crimes and act like this didn’t all start because you were trying to sell drugs.”

“You’re making me question who the real criminal is here. Tell me, do you have a record you haven’t mentioned yet? A secret past?”

“Not a lot of people know this, but Goodfellas was actually based on my life.”

“Oh, so you’re part of The Mob now, too?

“There’s so much you don’t know about me yet, young Harold,” Louis smirked and started towards the parking lot. Harry diverted his eyes when he realized they were falling too low as he watched Louis walk away.

“Hold on, you’re not actually going to hot-wire that car, are you? How would you even know how to do that?” Harry jogged to catch up with him.

“One of my mates back in school taught me how on his dad’s car one time. It was like five years ago, but I’m sure I could do it again.” Louis explained as they neared the old Honda Civic.

“You’re insane,” Harry stated, but Louis was already reaching to open the door. He heard the click and it easily swung open.

“How convenient. We didn’t even have to break in,” Louis smiled as he sat in the driver’s seat, tossed the backpack next to him, and got to work.

The interior light came on and revealed the stained cloth seats and classic fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror. The cassette player in the center console meant it had to be at least from the 90s. Pulling out the plastic cover, Louis revealed a mess of wires. Harry watched in confusion as he moved some out of the way, digging around and trying to connect various colors together.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Harry asked.

“You may be surprised to hear this, but I’m actually not sure anymore,” Louis said as he continued fiddling around.

“Hey! What’s going on?” a harsh voice spoke up from behind them. Harry and Louis both let out deafening screams at the sudden surprise. Louis jumped out of the car and Harry got a quick glance at the old man in the backseat as he stumbled backwards. While looking quite angry, he was also wrapped up in a blanket and seemed like he hadn’t shaved in weeks.

“We’re so sorry, sir,” Harry said as he continued backing away. Louis was already taking off behind him.

“Get away from my car!” he yelled, climbing into the front seat to slam the door shut. Harry assumed he was climbing out to go after him so followed Louis in running as far away as he could.

“Who sleeps in their car with the door unlocked?” Harry asked once he caught up. They ran until they were just outside park before they finally stopped to catch their breath. Harry was not prepared for the excessive amount of running this night had required.

Once again, they found themselves without a plan and without money. Basically back to square one- so much so that the diner was just across the street.

"We went in a circle?!" Louis shouted, just about as fed up with the situation as Harry had been since the night began. Facing defeat, he decided to collapse onto the grass, leaning back on his hands with his legs stretched out in front of him. The ground was still wet from the rain.

"Louis," Harry looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Where's the backpack?"

Louis took a quick glance around himself then fell onto his back so he was laid flat.

"I left it on the seat of that homeless guy's car," he spoke to the sky, voice flat.

"How the fuck-"

"Stop! Just shut up for one second!" Louis exploded as he stood up, "God, all night you've been nothing but a miserable twat. I know this is an annoying situation and I'm sorry I fucked up, but I don't know what to do either!" he stepped closer to Harry as if it would help get his point across. "We're both stuck in this together, alright? I don't even care about the money anymore. I just want my textbooks and lucky for you, I'm not so much of an asshole that I'd leave you alone at this point to figure it out yourself."

They were standing awfully close now, only inches between them. Harry could feel Louis' breath against his face as he looked down at him. There was a silent pause before Louis took a step back, adding a bit of distance.

"Let's just go get the bag," Louis said firmly, but with less anger in his voice.

Louis walked a few steps in front of Harry as they made their way back to the car. This seemed to be a comfortable pace for them. It was what they were getting used to.

"What if this guy wants to keep the pills? How do we get it back?" Harry asked, kicking a rock with his shoe.

"Just because he's homeless doesn't mean he does drugs," Louis said like it was obvious, not being one to stereotype.

They approached the car slowly, unsure if the man was sleeping again or not. Harry leaned down and peaked in the window to check. He saw a dark figure and the blanket from before and made the assumption that he must be. Louis was up front, checking the driver's side window.

"I don't see the bag up here. Anything back there?" Louis asked.

Harry shook his head, "No, but this guy sure does have a lot of shit in his car."

"As in just a lot of stuff or do you actually see feces?"

"I don't see any, but I wouldn't be surprised."

Louis checked the handles on the car to see if they could get it. Turned out, the guy figured out how to lock his car.

"Guess the guy learned his lesson about locking his doors," Louis said as he strolled over to Harry's side. He looked at the ground for a moment, then back up to Harry, hands stuffed in his pockets and a grin on his face.

"Tell me, Harold, do you have a visual impairment?"

"No, why would I..." Louis nodded towards the ground and there, sitting right next to the rear wheel, was the backpack.

Harry picked it up and reached for the zipper to check its contents.

"Thank God it's all here," Harry said, pulling one strap over his shoulder.

"See, what’d I say? Not everyone is who they seem to be. I’d think you’d be one against stereotypes yourself." Louis said, making Harry pull his eyebrows together. What exactly did he mean by that? Was there some stereotype that Harry was supposed to fall into? Whatever it was, Harry was quick to brush it off.

"So where to now?" Louis continued when Harry didn’t say anything.

"I guess we'll just... walk? I mean, I don't know what else we could do."

"Wait, I have an idea!" Louis said, whipping out his phone from his back pocket. They were stood under a streetlight now, back at the original spot beside the road.

"Last time you said that we ended up running from the police," Harry stressed.

"My roommate went out tonight, but he should be back now. We live just around the block. He's probably drunk off his ass, but I can get him to loan us some money for a cab. If not, I know where he keeps his wallet."

"Why are you so comfortable taking money from people's wallets?" Louis ignored him as he typed out a text to his roommate. Hitting send, he continued forward.

"C'mon, then," Louis said, pocketing his phone and continuing down the street. Harry readjusted the straps on the backpack and, like usual, followed close behind.

The walk to Louis' apartment was only about five minutes. While he was relieved that they finally had a plan, Harry couldn't help but feel a bit sad that their short-lived adventure was going to come to an end. It may have been stressful and Louis might have gotten on his nerves, but he was just starting to enjoy his company. Quite a lot actually. Maybe after this, they would even become friends.

Just as they were about to cross the street, a truck came zooming past trying to run a yellow light. They waited patiently on the edge of the pavement for the truck to pass, completely oblivious of the giant puddle right in front of them. As it drove by, the water from the puddle was sprayed into the air, soaking them both.

"What the fuck, man?!" Louis yelled down the street, as if the diver could hear him.

"These jeans were two hundred pounds!" Harry said, rubbing the excess water off himself. Louis turned to him, both eyebrows raised.

"You payed two hundred pounds for black jeans?" Louis asked slowly.

"I bought them after my first deal. I'm a reckless spender, okay?"

The cold water was seeping right through their clothing. Harry reached over his head to pull off his soaking wet hoodie to reveal an, almost sheer, green blouse that he was wearing only half buttoned so most of his chest was exposed. When he was getting ready to leave that night he wasn't sure what the atmosphere of the bar would be, so he put on something nice under his hoodie just in case.

"Wow, you really leave nothing for the imagination, do you?" Louis asked, referring to how thin his shirt was and the tightness of his jeans, the waist of them no longer covered by the bottom of the hoodie. He removed his own jacket, nothing but a black t-shirt underneath.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Harry smirked, stuffing the hoodie into the backpack.

"Hmm, maybe another time," Louis decided, not even having to make the disingenuous nature of the statement obvious. "For now, let's just get inside. I'll lend you some clothes."

When Louis unlocked the door, the smell of smoke hit them immediately. It was almost worse than Harry and Zayn's place. Or maybe it just seemed like it because he was sober.

Louis lived on the second floor of a five-floor apartment complex. It wasn't exactly an elegant place, but it was quaint and charming. The walls were littered with posters and odd artwork. None of the furniture seemed to match, but that was like anyone’s first apartment. It was really nothing more or less than expected.

Across the room, Harry noticed a figure setting a bong down on the coffee table in front of him.

"Liam?" Harry said in a questioning tone as he stepped further into the apartment. Louis tossed his keys onto the small table beside the door.

"Harry! Long-time-no-see," Liam exclaimed and stood up from the sectional to give Harry a brief hug, not acknowledging that he was completely soaked with rain water.

"You two know each other?" Louis raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we both used to buy from Hal. I used to sleep on him and his roommate's couch all the time before I met you. How is Zayn, by the way?" Liam turned back to Harry.

"He's doing great. Just finishing up his last year of art school, but now he keeps talking about taking some literature courses."

"Ah, sounds like him. Tell him to give me a call. We should all hang out sometime," Liam suggested. Louis just watched them from across the room, arms folded in front of him with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah, that would be great," Harry grinned.

"Well, it's been a long night…"

"You think," Louis mumbled.

"So I'm heading to bed. Harry, you be careful with this one. I've seen him take home his fair share of men in the past. Just don't be too loud, I need to work in the morning."

"Oh, no, we aren't-" Harry started but was quickly cut off by Louis.

 "Alright, mate, that's enough out of you. Where's your wallet? I need to borrow a twenty."

"On the coffee table," Liam called behind him as he continued the walk towards his room, the bottoms of his sweatpants dragging behind his heels, "Have fun!"

"Just ignore him," Louis laughed as he stepped towards the table to retrieve the money.

"Oh, don't worry, I've learned to," Harry chuckled a response.

"So, uh," Louis paused and looked around for a second, "We should probably change into dry clothes. Just follow me."

Walking past the kitchen and down a narrow hallway, they ended up in a fairly small bedroom. It was probably about the same size as the one Harry had when he was a little kid. The room was covered in everything from Marvel superhero posters to family photos and old football awards. There were a few DVDs scattered on the dresser and a pile of worn books on the desk. The room was probably very similar to what Louis’ room looked like as a kid, but this one didn’t feel juvenile. It was the type of room where you felt like you were walking right into someone’s life the moment you stepped over the threshold.

“Do you want jeans or sweats?” Louis asked as he pulled open a drawer in his dresser.

“Probably just sweats. Your jeans might be a little short on me,” Harry said as he walked towards the desk to check out the bulletin board he had hanging above it. Louis sent him a glare at the ‘short’ comment, but Harry didn’t catch it. He was too busy examining the concert and movie tickets that were pinned up next to a photo with Louis and another guy. They looked awfully close in the picture with their arms wrapped together as they sat on a couch.

What he also didn't notice was Louis pulling out a Tupperware container and a small glass pipe that was hidden in one of his drawers. He held them up and Harry raised his eyebrows.

"I know you've been on edge all night. One or two hits might calm your nerves," he handed him the lighter and prepared pipe. Harry had to take his hands out of his pockets- a place where they had been most of the night to help him feel a little more guarded- to accept them. He brought the pipe to his mouth and lit the bowl for a few seconds until he could breathe in the smoke before passing it back to Louis.

"Shit, this stuff is strong," Harry struggled to stop himself from coughing as he let out a puff of smoke.

"Oh, God," Louis said as he took a hit himself. He had to agree, unsure they would even finish what was in the bowl. "What the hell did Liam get this time?"

"It couldn't be, like, laced or anything, could it?" Harry's face suddenly turned to worry. Louis let out a short laugh.

"No, no, his guy is trustworthy. He may seem like it sometimes, but he isn't that much of an idiot. I mean, hell, he graduated uni last year one of the top in his class. You probably knew that, though.” Honestly, Harry really had no idea about that, but there was a lot about Liam he didn’t know. The guy was outgoing, sure, but tended to keep most details of his life to himself. Harry wasn’t even sure he ever told him where he was from.

Louis excused himself to the washroom to change, leaving Harry with the room to himself to put on the clothes he left out. The sweats must have been loose fitting on Louis because they were exactly Harry's size. The t-shirt hugged his waist a bit, but it would work fine. However, that fact was something Louis noticed the moment he emerged from the bathroom, dressed in the different pair of black jeans and the dark grey hoodie he opted for. It was hard for him to look away from the curve at the bottom on Harry's spine and the way the muscles in his arms moved as he tied his curls into a high bun with the elastic he had around his wrist. When Louis finally looked away to throw his wet clothes into a hamper, Harry found his eyes wondering back to the bulletin board.

“Who’s this?” Harry asked, pointing at the picture he was looking at before of Louis and that guy. Louis looked up from quickly organizing his room. Not that he really needed to bother, the room wasn't exactly what Harry would say, uh, clean.

“Oh, that’s Adam. He’s just an ex,” Louis shrugged as he moved back to the dresser to put away the, now empty, pipe and the rest of the clean clothes he took out.

“You keep pictures of your ex hanging up in your room?”

“It’s a memory board. He was a big part of my life so I figured he deserved a spot.”

“How long were you guys together?” Harry asked, hoping he wasn’t overstepping his bounds.

“Just over three years. We started dating in our last year of school then it went on into college. The last two years of the relationship were great, but he moved away to go to university and it just got too hard,” Louis told the story with ease as he moved to the other side of the room, picking up some clothes off the floor, “He was amazing and we got on great, but it just wasn’t meant to last I guess.”

“So was Adam your first love?”

“Yeah, I think so. We’re still friends. It was really hard letting him go at first, but I know now that it was for the best,” he laughed a bit to himself while he folded a shirt, “God, that sounds so cliché.”

“No, no, I get it.” Harry moved to take a seat on Louis’ bed in a spot he just cleaned off, “I had a similar situation. You know, high school sweethearts that were crazy about each other. We broke up right after graduation.”

“Were they your first love?” Louis repeated in a teasing tone, but the question was sincere.

“No, I don’t think I’ve ever been in love. I mean, I know it exists, but it’s just a hard concept to grasp. If I don’t understand it yet, I don’t think I’ve experienced it,” Harry shrugged.

Louis sighed and took the seat next him, patting him lightly on the knee, “Oh, Harol- Harry, sorry,” he cleared his throat, “I think you’re overthinking it. Love isn’t that complicated. You love your mum, your friends, your siblings, without even having to think too much about it. Loving people is great. The people whose company you enjoy and you know you’d do something to help them out in a heartbeat, I’m sure you’d say you love them. Romantic love is just that with sex thrown in.”

Harry let out a breath as a laugh, “I wish it was that simple.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Could you imagine spending the rest of your life with one of your friends? Would you be willing to wake up every morning and go to sleep every night laying right next to them? What about raising kids together? Working through every fight, dealing with stress and loss, but still having that one person always by your side. Knowing that you would do anything for their happiness and that nothing else in the world would bring you as much happiness as them. At least until you had kids, I guess. I don’t think you would find that in just any old friend.”

There was a pause, Louis unsure how exactly to respond to that. He was probably right, but it was a lot to wrap your head around at one-thirty in the morning after a full day of work and a hectic night. Not to mention they just took a few hits of a blend that was way too strong.

“I think that might be a whole other level of love,” Louis decided, the corner of his lip curled up.

“Yeah, that’s what it is! Different levels,” he exclaimed like he just had a sudden epiphany. “Even with romantic love, I think its various levels. You probably love someone more on the day you marry them than the first time you actually say it. It grows, you know?”

Harry was suddenly very passionate as he spoke. It was all large gestures and exaggerated expressions, almost the opposite of his behavior the rest of the night. Before, he was so quiet and reserved. He spoke slowly and with caution, like any words that gave away too much about him, anything that made him feel vulnerable, would be a complete disaster. Now, those walls were slowly coming down and Louis seemed to be holding the sledgehammer.

"So this high school sweetheart, would you say you loved them on a lower level then?"

"Now that I think about it, probably. I mean, there was definitely infatuation. But you can become infatuated with someone from the moment you meet them."

Not a second passed before the air in the room suddenly felt heavy. Louis’ mind was slightly clouded with the mix of weed and drowsiness and maybe that whole "infatuation" thing that Harry was talking about. He couldn't deny that he really wanted to kiss Harry. In fact, there was a lot more than kissing that he wanted to do to him. What he wasn't expecting was for Harry to lean in first and so quickly. Louis was so taken off guard to the point where he did the worst thing he could possibly do. He turned away.

Harry looked down quickly, immediately feeling like he did something wrong. Suddenly feeling almost empty, he stood up quickly and walked towards the door. Of course he had to end up falling for Louis when he knew it would be unrequited. They were supposed to hate each other; that’s how all of this started. As soon as they made the deal and Louis got his textbooks back and his share of the money, they were to part ways for good.

His face began to heat up with the mixture of embarrassment and disappointment. He never should have made a move. It was just that he got too caught up in the moment, that was all.

"Wait! Harry, I wanted-" Louis started, but wasn’t even sure himself how to continue. What the hell was he thinking turning away? Of course he wanted to kiss him. He just panicked and completely fucked up a perfectly good moment.

"We, um, should probably go," Harry said quietly as he disappeared out the door.

Louis could not let it all end like this. He followed in a rush, stepping over the remaining clothes and out of the room until he met a, slightly confused, Harry in the hallway. Without a second thought, he bunched Harry's shirt up in his fists and pulled him forward until Louis' back was against the wall and Harry's lips were on his. He was surprised at first, but it didn’t take long at all for Harry to kiss him back. It began heated with lust taking over as Harry placed his hand on the wall behind him.

At the beginning of the night, there was no way in hell Louis could even imagine kissing Harry. He was just this guy that came into the diner late at night in grumpy mood, not really up for Louis' conversation. Then he was the guy who accidentally swapped their backpacks and left Louis with a bag full of pills. After that, he was the guy Louis was forced to spend the evening bickering with so he could get his textbooks back, and maybe earn a bit of money on the side. Now, he was the guy Louis was making out with in the hallway of his own apartment making him wish this night would never come to an end.

Louis raised his hands from Harry's chest to wrap his arms around his neck while Harry's hands fell to Louis' hips, pulling him closer. He began leaving small pecks across Louis' jawline and down his neck until he reached the perfect spot to leave a mark, just above his collarbone.

"Harry," Louis let out, breathlessly, trying to get Harry's attention, but he was too focused on Louis' neck.

"Harry," Louis tried again, a little louder.

"Hm?" Harry hummed into his skin.

"Not to ruin the mood or anything, but I believe we have a drug deal to get to."

Harry pulled away slowly, a small smirk forming on his swollen lips. His hair was tousled from Louis' fingers running through it and creases remained on the borrowed shirt. 

"To be continued?" Harry suggested, voice low.

Louis placed one last lingering kiss on his lips.

"To be continued," he agreed.

***

They hailed a taxi just outside Louis’ apartment with a new sense of determination mixed with impatience as they took the 15 minute cab ride. The car was silent, save for the quiet hum of the engine and the radio volume on low, playing some acoustic song that the driver was listening to. At this point, Harry was exhausted and couldn’t wait to be able to just go home and sleep. It had been a very long, stressful, and confusing day. Not to mention that neither of them had even considered what was to happen between the two of them. Would they try to date? Or maybe Louis was just looking for a one-time hook up? Would they remain friends after tonight? Were they even friends to begin with? The thoughts began to circle in Harry’s mind as he watched the orange streetlights pass through the window.

They were seated next to each other in the back seat, keeping a comfortable distance, but not so much that it would seem they were trying to keep away from each other. They didn’t feel awkward having kissed, exactly. Hell, it was all either of them could think about most of the night. It was more of an uncertainty that still hung in the air. Something that would have to be discussed when they weren’t on their way to a drug deal.

The cab pulled up next to what seemed to be quite a hot spot this evening. Judging from the outside, The Vault was a much nicer, modern club than the first hole-in-the-wall Harry had been sent to tonight. Outside, the line stretched across the length of the building, young people of all sorts waiting to get in. Earlier, Zayn had told Harry that his name would be on the list for priority access so he didn’t have to wait in line. He really hoped that was actually the case as Louis paid the driver with the twenty that he took from Liam’s wallet and they stepped out of the car.

“Ready?” Harry asked as Louis appeared by his side on the pavement.

Louis nodded his head cautiously, a hint of worry in his eyes.

They stepped forward, beginning a brisk walk to the bouncer standing next to the door. He was just as intimidating as Harry expected from TV and movies. Having been one more for bars than clubs, this was quite a new experience for him.

The people in line eyed them closely as they walked to the front, some even shouting at them for cutting in. Harry suddenly felt his stomach do summersaults as they got closer and nudged Louis to do the talking.

“Wait, what name am I asking for?” Louis whispered before they reached the rather large man with a military-style buzz cut.

“Oh yeah, I guess I never told you my last name,” his mouth curved slightly, but he fought against it, “It’s Styles.”

“Should’ve told me that from the beginning. It’s a much cooler nickname than Harold,” Louis remarked and proceeded towards the door.

“Wait,” Harry touched his arm lightly to stop him, “what’s yours?”

Louis paused for a moment before grinning, “Tomlinson.”

They didn't have any time to waste, seeing as the clock on the center console read 1:55AM when they got out of the taxi. Louis reached the bouncer first, a friendly grin on his face and a slight bounce in his step.

"Harry Styles? The name should be on the list," Louis said, tapping the clip board in the man's hand. Harry opened his mouth to say something at Louis' action, but he decided against it. He trusted Louis could handle this.

The man looked between Harry and Louis, then back down at his clipboard with a scowl. "Alright," he decided and stepped aside.

Both Harry and Louis advanced forward, but the bouncer stuck his arm out in front of Harry, who stopped in surprise.

"No guests. Just who's on the list," the bouncer said, a rough Russian accent coming through.

"But I'm Harry," Harry said weakly, looking up at the man.

"Fine, then you go in. The little man can wait in line like the rest."

"Who are you calling little, Mr. Clean?" Louis raised his voice, but Harry was quick to react by stepping between the two and pulling Louis backwards.

"Did you hear that guy?" Louis pointed towards him as he was being forced back to the sidewalk.

"Lou, I can't afford to blow this, but I don't know if I can do this alone. I knew this was a bad idea from the start but I thought maybe if I could just get one easy job then I-"

"Hey, hey, it's going to be alright," Louis spoke in a calming voice as he grabbed Harry's shoulders. Harry had his hand on his forehead as he took a deep breath.

"I'm thinking, after tonight, I should consider a new line of work. Not sure I'm cut out for this," Louis laughed at that as he pulled Harry into a hug.

"Don't worry too much, okay? Didn't you say your roommate was meeting you here? You'll have him right next to you. And I'll find a way in too so you really won't be alone."

"Thank you," Harry whispered as Louis pecked his cheek. They held the embrace a moment longer before letting go, Louis handing Harry the backpack as they parted.

"Good luck!" Louis called after him as he walked away. As Harry stepped through the doors of the club, he already missed being in Louis' arms.

The last, and only, time Harry had been to club for his own enjoyment was the night Liam and Zayn dragged him for a night out. They met up with some of Liam's friends, but by then Harry had already had a couple of drinks because if he was going to dance in a club, he had to be absolutely sloshed. Honestly, he hardly remembered anything from that night. The blackout period stretched from the moment he stepped out onto the dance floor to when he woke up on the floor of his bedroom ("I swear I left you in your bed. If you rolled on the floor, that's your own fault," Zayn had said when he woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache and a severe case of cotton mouth.)

At risk of looking suspicious, Harry leaned against the end of the bar where people were demanding drinks. He sent out a quick text to Zayn to let him know he was there and waited, quite impatiently, for a response. It didn't take long for his phone to light up again with Zayn letting him know he'd meet him near the bathrooms in the back.

When he reached a dark hallway, the bathroom door swung open and a hand grabbed him by the back collar of his shirt and pulled him in. He was startled for a moment before he realized it was just Zayn.

"You know, if I wanted to be dragged into the bathroom by a guy in a club, I'd go have a couple of drinks and find someone on the dance floor," Harry drawled sarcastically as Zayn locked the door behind them. He realized just as he said it that it sounded more like something Louis would say.

It wasn't until he stumbled forward that he discovered that they weren't alone in the bathroom. In front of them stood the buyer from before, Niall, as well as Liam. This was not exactly a pair he expected.

"What's going on?" he asked hesitantly.

"We're working undercover with the federal police and we need your help," Niall said, as him and Liam held up their badges.

"Wait, what?!" Harry gasped and started to back up, ready to make his escape. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't get arrested, not tonight, not ever. This whole situation was idiotic and he couldn't believe he was dumb enough to get involved. What would he tell Louis? He'd never forgive himself if something happened to him. Would he even see him again? They hadn't even exchanged phone numbers yet.

"Is Louis with you?" Liam asked sternly.

"No, he's waiting outside, but-"

"We're not in trouble, man, don't worry," Zayn said, holding his shoulders so he wouldn't run away. For some reason, that really didn't seem to help keep him calm. Was Zayn a cop too? Had he been under cover since they met? "Hey, whose shirt is this?" he added and pinched at the fabric, referring to the fact that is was noticeably too small.

"Can someone please explain what the hell is going on here?" Harry shouted with wide eyes, ignoring Zayn's question.

"We've been after Hal for almost two years now. There's a lot you don't know about the way he works, but that's Information we can't exactly disclose. This guy is international, only he doesn't want you to think that. You guys are young and easy to manipulate. That's actually why we've been waiting for you to finally do a deal by yourself because we knew you'd be the easiest to cooperate in taking him down. As far as we know, he's on his own here. Not to make it sound like a threat, but if you can't help us out then we'll have to put you both under arrest," Liam summarized.

"Actually that is a threat. You could get up to ten years if you refuse," Niall added, voice a little more stern.

"You knew about this?" Harry turned to Zayn, feeling a little hurt that he seemed to be the only one in the dark about everything.

"Only since this morning. Liam came over and explained the whole thing. Why else do you think I'd be so adamant about Hal sending you on your own? No offence, man, but you're shit at selling."

"Why didn't you guys just send Zayn on his own?"

"Hal trusts Zayn, so it could be dangerous if he thought it was only him working against him. Also, he wanted to make sure you didn't get taken down like the others." Niall said.

"Others?" Harry questioned, still struggling to wrap his head around the whole situation.

"His other dealers. We started taking them in last week. We had to make sure there would be no one else in the way. At least not in the country. It's just you guys left," Liam pointed between them.

“So what about when I forgot the pills? Why the change of location?”

"That guy that was with me, Toby, he’s another one of our partners. He said the owner of that club was getting suspicious that we were cops since he’d never seen us around there before. We’ll probably scope out that place next week,” Niall let out a laugh and Liam joined in agreement. Harry didn’t understand how they could find humor in any of this.

It was all too much. Harry was getting a little light headed as the air around him grew thin. This wasn't happening. It was probably just a nightmare and he'd wake up any second. He'd be back in his bed in his shitty apartment and he'd immediately call up Hal and tell him he's quitting everything then move to the other side of town. Or maybe the other side of the world, who’s to say? At the same time, he hoped that wasn't the case because that would mean Louis wasn’t real. That, or he just never met him. Wow, Harry thought, wait until he finds out his stoner roommate was actually a cop the whole time.

Harry took a deep breath and didn't realize he was staring at the tiled floor until he had to look up to meet Niall and Liam's eyes.

"What do you need us to do?"

***

Louis was in quite the predicament at the moment. There had to be at least fifty people in line in front of him. Who waits in line to get into a club at two in the morning anyway? Isn't this around the time you'd be heading home from a night out? That's where Louis should be right now. Snuggled up under the blankets, maybe with Harry laying right next to him after a different kind of wild night. Harry was the whole reason he was still there, he supposed. He helped him get this far and he wasn't about to abandon him now.

When the line started moving forward, Louis leaned one foot out to see how many people were leaving that allowed more to go in. There was a steady stream of people heading out, but most of them were girls. That meant they were only going to let more girls in. He never did understand the whole male/female ratio clubs seemed to always have. It's not like hooking up is the only reason people go clubbing. Not to mention that not everyone is attracted to the opposite gender.

Now was not the time to debate the politics in his head, he decided. Instead, he had to get himself involved with a few girls. Luckily, there was a group of about six of them right in front of him, so he slapped on his most flirtatious grin and turned up the charm.

Not ten minutes later they were at the front of the line and the Russian bouncer was still standing there, looking as stubborn and bald as ever.

"Don't think I don't recognize you, little man. I know you didn't come here with these ladies."

"But he's with us now. I don't understand the problem," one of the girls, who Louis now knew as Casey, told him. He filled the girls in on his whole situation while they were in line so they were more than willing to help. (And by whole situation, he meant his "long lost love" was in there and he needed to get to him. The validity of that statement wasn't important.)

"Fine, let me see your IDs."

The girls fished around in their purses and pockets, each pulling out their IDs as the bouncer checked them. When they got to Louis, he patted around his body then froze in realization. That buyer that Harry was meeting still had his wallet.

"Do I look like I'm under 18 to you?" he looked up and raised an eyebrow, as if that statement would actually work.

"I don't know, do I still look like Mr. Clean to you?"

Louis narrowed his eyes, accepting that he would have to lose this fight in order to save even the smallest amount of his dignity.

"Fine," he sighed, parting ways with the girls.

"Are you sure you're just going to go?" Casey asked as the group turned to watch him leave.

"Yeah, its fine,” he sighed because it really wasn’t fine, but those complete strangers had already done more than enough to help him out. “Have a good night," he added and sent them off with a friendly wave.

He turned on his heel to walk towards the back of the line again when he noticed the alley leading to the back of the club. This gave him another idea.

***

In the back room, where they were to make the deal, Harry, Zayn, and Hal sat opposite Niall and Liam. When they first got there, it seemed as though Liam had taken the place of Toby, who was now guarding outside the main door. Hal was hesitant at first to make the sale with Liam there, but Niall demanded his presence.

Now that he knew this really wouldn’t end up badly for him, Harry felt more at ease. He had to say, Niall put on a great show of being intimidating when they met earlier that night. When he first realized he forgot the pills, he genuinely thought Niall was about to kick his ass. Which he was still definitely capable of doing, being a cop and all.

Liam, on the other hand, he could’ve never guessed to have been under cover. He’d known him for over a year as some lazy stoner that used to crash on him and Zayn’s couch a couple of times a week. At one point, he even suspected there might have been something going on between him and Zayn. Once Liam disappeared a few months back, he assumed a falling out between them was why. This, however, wasn’t even close to what he thought. The time and effort put into keeping this investigation going for so long deserved a round of applause.

“So,” Niall started, back in character as the buyer, “I can assumed you didn’t leave my pills at home again?” Hal chuckled at the comment while Niall looked at Harry directly, not a speck of friendliness in his expression. Honestly, if he wasn’t a cop, he would’ve made a great actor.

Harry leaned down to unzip the backpack in front of him, taking out the freezer bag filled with prescription pill bottles, and laid it out on the table in front of them. Niall stared at it for a moment, not reaching out to take it, just looking.

“Ten grand. That’s what we agreed on,” Hal said, leaning forward in his seat. Liam turned to the small duffle bag beside him and started pulling ten small stacks of hundreds. A grin spread across Hal’s face as he began collecting each one as Liam put them down, flipping through each stack to count them. The only time Harry had ever seen Hal smile was in the presence of money.

“It’s all here?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"All ten thousand, just like we agreed on,” Niall nodded, motioning towards the money.

“Perfect,” he pushed himself off the couch to stand up, offering Niall a hand to shake. He accepted graciously, but Liam had a different plan in mind.

“Hold on, there’s just one more thing,” Liam said, pulling out the last two remaining items from the bag. The first being his badge, which he held out in perfect view for Hal. “You’re under arrest for-”

Before Liam could even finish his sentence, Hal pulled out a gun from his jacket and pointed it directly at Liam. This brought him to his second item to pull out of his bag without a speck of fear in his eyes: his own gun. Niall already had his pointed at Hal before Liam even looked up again and holy shit this is not what was supposed to happen. Harry and Zayn sat frozen, feeling more terrified than they had in their lives.

“Drop your weapon!” Niall shouted, “Harry, Zayn, get over here,” he added, eyes locked on Hal with his gun aimed at his chest.

“What? No! Get back over here!” Hal cried out as Harry and Zayn rushed to the other side of the room, heads ducked down below possible gunfire.

“They sold you out, Hal. You have no one left on your side. If we don’t end this now, someone is leaving in a body bag,” intimidation filled Liam’s voice.

“Spoiler alert: it’s you,” Niall added a little louder.

Harry looked around the room, trying to take in the scene through the tunneling that was starting to happen to his vision. He and Zayn were standing behind Liam and Niall, almost like they were using them as shields. He’d never seen anything like it happen, but Zayn once told him that he heard Hal had killed someone before. However, when he described it, he was very clear that it was only one person and he was acting in self-defense. Now that he knew the police had been stalking him for a year, he realized that that was probably not the case.

By now, Harry was itching to know the extent of Hal’s crimes. Niall and Liam said it was in their best interest if they didn’t know the full story, otherwise it could be dangerous for them later. But besides supplying, what exactly had Hal been doing? Liam said he was international, which probably meant drug trafficking. He found himself feeling thankful that Hal kept that part from him and Zayn if that was the case. Although, at the same time, that knowledge probably would’ve kept him out of everything that led him to this moment of having a gun pointed at him from across the room.

“If we get out of this alive, I’m killing you when we get home,” Harry whisper-yelled in Zayn’s direction.

“I’d normally argue, but that sounds fair,” he replied.

If only that short interaction would break the tension in the room, but this situation was far beyond anything either of them knew how to handle.

“I won’t ask you again. Drop your weapon!” Niall repeated, voice louder this time as his grip tightened on the handle. Harry wondered if anyone outside the room could hear what was going on.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard a thumping followed by a crash coming from the door behind them. No one knew what kind of room was on the other side, but it sounded like there were footsteps approaching down a hallway. Everyone turned toward the noise except Liam, who made sure his attention was locked directly on Hal.

“What was that?” Zayn asked what everyone was clearly thinking.

When the door swung open, Harry couldn’t tell whether or not he was surprised to see Louis stumble in. His expression started as happy when he saw Harry, but shifted once he noticed the guns.

“What the fu-”

Before Louis could finish his sentence, there was one quick and loud gunshot followed by another. Right before his eyes, Harry witnessed Hal wail and drop to the floor, blood leaking from a wound on the left side of his chest. Toby was standing diagonal from him, gun still aimed at his lifeless body. Taking Hal's wrist, he checked the pulse to make sure he was dead while Niall was already on his radio calling for back-up. It was over now, but Harry felt like he was going to throw up as he stared at what just unfolded in front of him. A ringing sounded in his ears and he couldn't tell if it was from the gunshots or his fading senses. The air was light once he remembered to breathe again, but instead of oxygen it was like he was breathing in smoke right from the barrel.

To Harry, the concept of death never felt like something he'd be confronted with. It was always in the future, always something that would happen eventually to us all. Something he wasn't prepared for was actually witnessing death. Seeing someone go from living and breathing to a body lost of all consciousness.

“Is everyone else okay?” Niall asked as he pulled the radio away from his face.

“Harry…” a voice croaked from behind them. There, Louis stood with both hands covering just above his hip. He lifted them slightly, revealing a bloody gash that was already soaking the surrounding t-shirt. That explained the first gunshot.

 “Oh my god,” Harry cried as he sprinted towards him. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening. Louis wasn’t involved in any of this. He didn’t deserve to have to suffer because of him. Harry should never have went into that diner; never have talked to Louis. It may have meant he wouldn’t be in Harry’s life, but at least he was guaranteed his own.

Louis tried to take a few steps to meet him halfway, but he collapsed on the ground, still clutching his side. He let out a violent cough that resulted in his mouth filling with blood as Harry kneeled next to him, a look of defeat on his face as Harry remained in a state of panic. Not Louis he repeated to himself in his mind as he felt a tightening in his chest from being overwhelmed.

“Don’t move him!” he faintly heard Niall say before calling for an ambulance in his radio next.

“It’s going to be okay, Louis, you hear me? I promise, everything is going to be okay, you just have to stay with me. Don’t close your eyes, you have to stay awake,” Harry begged as he cradled Louis’ face. He remained conscious, but Harry seemed to be the one fading away as the panic started to take over his body.

“I will, yeah,” Louis rasped and Harry grabbed his hand without sparring a second. He wasn’t letting Louis go. Not now, not ever. All he needed was for Louis to remain alive.

“It’s going to be okay,” Harry assured again, feeling better about haw alert Louis was.

“We met before, you know,” Louis said, a pained smile on his face and he staggered his breathing.

“What do you mean, Lou?” Harry asked, stroking the back of Louis’ hand with his thumb in an attempt to soothe him. He was trying to listen by not touching him, but he wanted nothing more than to hold him close in his arms. Instead, Niall instructed him add pressure to the wound with his other hand since Louis would get too weak from blood loss to continue doing it himself.

“Funny enough, it was at a club. I was with Liam an’ he met up with you and your roommate. I took a liking too you right away, but you were so drunk off your arse, we never got a chance to really talk,” he stopped and took a deep breath, sirens finally sounding in the background, “I recognized you right away, back in the diner, but didn’t say anything ‘cause I knew you wouldn’t remember me. When you started actin’ like a twat, I almost wished I didn’t,” he started chuckling to himself, but stopped when it made him cough, causing more blood that hurt Harry just to see.

“What makes you bring all this up?” he asked as Louis caught his breath again.

"Never got th’ chance to properly ask you on a date.”

“So you wanted to ask me while there was blood coming out of your abdomen?”

“Actually, it’s beside my abdomen,” Louis smirked and somehow that gave Harry his own bit of reassurance.

“So, Harry, will y’ go on a date with me?” he continued, words becoming ever more slurred together and voice getting softer as he got weaker.

“I would love to.” Harry tried to ignore the feeling of Louis’ blood seeping through his fingers as he kept the wound covered. That alone made his eyes brim with tears.

“I’d kiss you, but I don’t wanna get blood on your lips. Also, I don’t think I can lift my head that high.” Only Louis could find a way to make light out of getting shot. His eyes began to fall closed, but he fought hard to keep them open.

“Don’t fall asleep, Lou,” Harry raised his voice, making Louis’ eyes pop back open. The blue in them began to darken as his pupils dilated and his skin turned pale.

“Maybe you are like Dougie Howser after all,” he didn’t even try to laugh at his own joke that time. Harry still didn’t understand the reference, but remembered Louis saying something about a kid doctor.

“Not that this required any more training then sitting through a movie, but I am a biology major.”

“Good to know,” Louis hummed.

As the room filled with police and paramedics, everything turned into a blur until Louis was being lifted into an ambulance on a stretcher and Harry was being questioned in the back seat of a police car and wishing he was still holding Louis’ hand.

***

Harry was growing mesmerized by the blue lights on the vending machine. The key pad blinked every second or so as the machine waited to be fed coins. He considered getting a snack since he couldn't remember the last time he ate, but he wasn't sure he could stomach anything at the moment.

Diagonal from him was a little girl laying down across the waiting room chairs looking pale and tired, her mom sitting beside her and stroking her hair. Her current state made him hope her name would be called next.

Across the room was a man with his right arm in a temporary sling and his face cut up a bruised. Most notable was his matching black eyes and the small bandage across the bridge of his nose. A police officer had stopped to talk to him earlier. Harry remembered because he was sure that the cop was there for him when he first saw him walk into the waiting room. The last thing he felt like doing was explaining what happened again. The less he had to recount that night in so much detail, the better. After eavesdropping on the conversation, he gathered that the man was in some kind of fight, one that he most likely provoked himself.

When Harry first arrived after being driven by Niall, Louis was already being treated. Niall had to leave Harry as soon as he was dropped off, but promised he'd send Zayn once they were done with asking him questions. As much as he didn’t want to leave Harry alone, he still had a job to do that turned out a lot messier than originally planned.

By the time the paramedics were carrying him onto the stretcher, they were doing everything in their power to make sure Louis didn’t pass out. They placed a temporary bandage over the wound, but blood was still leaking onto the white blanket that covered his torso. All Harry could do is watch while he was being carted away.

Six hours went by since he got there and Harry somehow managed to fall asleep in the waiting room chair while getting lost in thought and worry. When he finally woke up again, the bright rays of the morning sun lit up the emergency room. Zayn was sitting a few chairs down, preoccupied with reading something on his phone.

“Have they said anything yet?” Harry asked, voice still groggy from sleep. He sat up straight and stretched his limbs, feeling the sharp pain in his back and neck from sleeping in the hard chair.

“Yeah, I’m just reading the article about what happened. I guess they evacuated the club when the gunshots were heard then just said there was an arrest going down and talked about Hal getting shot. No clear information about what all he did, but Liam did say they weren’t going to release the details.” Zayn summarized, still scrolling through the article with his thumb.

“I meant about Louis,” Harry said a little quieter.

“You were sleeping, but the doctor came in and talked to me. He lost a lot of blood, but he’s alive and well. The bullet did graze his stomach, but no major harm done. He got lucky. They’re only keeping him one more night, I think.”

Harry had never felt a feeling of relief quite like this. Louis was alive and okay and he was going home. He still felt a deep guilt for everything that happened, but Louis was alive. He’d never be able to forgive himself if the outcome was anything else. Letting his head fall into his hands, rubbed his face to relax himself.

“Thank god,” he mumbled with a sigh. “How come you didn’t wake me up?”

"You had a long night. I figured you deserved a bit of shut eye,” Zayn shrugged.

“Did anyone tell him what happened? Like the whole undercover thing or…?”

"Liam went in and talked to him. Said he was pretty surprised, but was more concerned with seeing you.”

Harry’s head shot up. “Am I allowed to go seem him?”

"You should be. I’ll go ask the nurse.”

He followed Zayn towards the front desk and waited behind him while he asked. When he was granted permission, the nurse pressed a button to open the main sliding doors and met Harry on the other side. Zayn said he’d hang back so he could talk to Louis alone. Harry wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea.

The nurse was an older woman with long grey hair and a kind smile, reminding him of a grandmother as she guided him through the wing. Louis was near the end of the hallway in a room meant for two patients, but the nurse mentioned that it was only him staying in it. As they approached the door, Harry’s stomach started twisting again.

“Louis? You have some company,” the nurse spoke as they walked in the room. Louis was slightly propped up by a few pillows and had the remote to the tiny wall TV in hand, flipping through channels. His eyes grew wide when he saw Harry, his mouth forming into an immediate smile. He was hooked up to an IV and still looked pale with dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. Regardless, it was much better seeing him like this than passing out from blood loss.

“I was hoping you’d come visit,” Louis said, signaling with one hand for Harry to come closer.

“He’s been waiting here as long as you have, dear,” the woman commented with a wink before leaving the room to give them a bit of privacy.

“You have?” Louis asked as Harry pulled a chair closer to the bed and took Louis’ closest hand in his.

“Louis, I’m so, so sorry all of his ha-” he couldn’t even finish his sentence before Louis’ free hand was caressing the back of his neck and pulling him down into a kiss. It was short, but long awaited. Well, at least since they last kissed back in the apartment. Louis’ lips were cool and slightly chapped, understandably so, but all Harry cared about was how right it felt.

“Please don’t apologize,” Louis pulled away to say, their mouths still only inches apart, “I don’t want you to be sorry for me being stupid,” he added, eyes flickering between Harry’s eyes and lips.

“What are you talking about?” Harry tiled his head slightly to ask.

“I couldn’t get into the club so I had to find my own way,” Louis began, resting back onto the bed as the pain from his wound was getting too strong to keep leaning forward. “I found this group of girls that were willing to help me, but I forgot that I left my ID in my bag, which Niall had. Speaking of that-” Louis pointed to the other side of the room where the bag was sitting unzipped, an arm of a sweater hanging out- “Liam brought it to me when he came to explain. Who would’ve thought a guy like that would turn out to be a cop?

“Anyway, so I knew that I could break into the diner, so I thought I might as well try it there. They didn’t have that whole thing with the window, obviously, but they did have a back exit. I just waited on the hinge side of the door for someone to come out and snuck in behind them. From there, I had no clue where I was going. I didn’t mean to actually find you because I knew it could be dangerous, so I just tried to follow the music down some back hallway. Don’t think I could’ve picked a worse door to go through.”

“I should’ve just told you to wait outside,” Harry muttered to himself.

“We aren’t doing the blame game. You know whose fault it was? The guy holding the gun. So just please don’t feel guilty. I don’t want you to think this is because of you.”

Harry, paused to think for a moment, narrowing his eyes but not breaking contact. “You can’t stop be from feeling at least a little guilty.”

Not sure what else he could say, Louis pulled Harry’s arm until his whole body was close enough that he could wrap his arms around him, nuzzling his face into his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Harry whispered in his ear while they held each other just a little bit longer.

“Not to ruin the moment- again- but I really have to take a piss,” Louis said, causing Harry to snort out a laugh. He stood up straight to help Louis out of bed and towards the washroom. Hunching over as he walked, Harry wondered if Louis was even supposed to be standing up, but he also knew there was no way he would be willing to use a bed pan.

“I know you want to, but try to refrain from looking at my ass. I’d rather not have the first time you see it to be through a hospital gown,” Louis added before shutting the door. At least his normal self was back, if it was ever really gone to begin with.

***

The walk down the dark-lit street on a cloudy night felt all too familiar, right down to the fluttering nerves in the pit of Harry’s stomach. This time, however, it was a good nervous feeling. Exciting even, causing his pace to quicken as he neared closer.

Before entering, Harry took a quick peek in the window, first to make sure he looked okay. His hair was down and brushed back with his fingers. The light blue button-up he was wearing was loose fitting with the top few buttons undone, revealing a few necklaces and an appropriate amount of chest hair. He’d bought the shirt from the clothing store he just started working at. Once he lost his only source of income after that night, he needed a new job, and fast, if he wanted to be able to pay the bills. Getting through university wasn’t exactly free.

He brushed his hands over his thighs as if to smooth out the fabric there, but the black jeans were so tight that wrinkles were hardly possible. Really, it was more to wipe off the sweat on his palms.

When his focused switched from the make-shift mirror to what was on the other side of the window, he immediately spotted a small figure sat on a stool at the counter facing away from the door. His foot was tapping against the metal rod at the bottom the stool since he couldn’t quite reach the ground. With a sudden eagerness, Harry jogged up the two steps and pulled on the door handle.

Louis spun around quickly, a grin spreading across his face at just the sight of Harry alone. Harry couldn’t help but take a moment to admire how amazing Louis looked. A casual grey jacket was layered over a navy shirt, perfectly framing his figure. He was clean shaven, even though Harry had to admit that he quite liked the stubble. Either way, he was absolutely stunning.

“Hey, does anyone work here?” Harry questioned, trying his best to keep a straight face.

Louis’ grin fell to a crooked smirk as he stood up and stepped closer. “That is the worst opening line I’ve heard. While I can appreciate a certain level a cheesy, you were just over the borderline there.”

They met in the middle with a lingering kiss. It felt so much different this time, like they weren’t rushed or had thoughts clouded by any substances. Nothing was forced either. It was just the two of them and they could stand there in each other’s embrace as long as they liked.

“So,” Harry began once they pulled away, “you asked me to meet you here…”

"Yeah, I was thinking I’d get us some dinner at the classiest 2-star late-night diner in town before we maybe go for a walk through a deserted park then maybe hit up some clubs.”

He couldn’t quite read Louis’ expression so he parted his lips to speak, but stopped when Louis broke out into a fit of laughter so contagious it made Harry start to crack up too. At least laughing was better than brooding over what happened that night.

“Actually, I have the classic lined up: dinner and a movie, but with the movie first. Gives us something to talk about over dinner.”

“Good idea. I have no clue what we could talk about otherwise,” Harry replied sarcastically while quickly adding, “that sounds great, though, really.”

As they stepped out of the diner, Louis reached out for Harry’s hand, lacing their fingers together as they began the short stroll to the movie theater. Harry asked how Louis was doing during the week since he was released from the hospital, but after a simple "good" he left it at that. He also wanted to ask if he had heard from Niall or Liam, or if he had read the update on Hal’s criminal past in the news that morning. He wanted to tell him how he and Zayn both got new jobs and how he left his old life behind him.

But he didn’t ask.

Instead, they went to the movies and laughed too hard at scenes that weren’t funny. Threw popcorn at the guy two rows ahead of them that was texting with his brightness all the way up, then pretending it wasn’t them when he turned around with a scowl. Deciding to skip the dinner reservations Louis made, they opted to share ice cream at a small parlor around the corner, too full from the movie snacks for a full meal.

They told stories and laughed until the creamy dessert was coming out of their noses. They walked through the streets, this time with no rain pouring down and nowhere to go. Not even realizing how late into the night they were getting until they reached Louis’ apartment where he now lived alone. When it came time for a goodbye kiss, Louis asked if he’d want to come inside, prompting another goodbye kiss that morning.

And again a few nights later. And again until there were no more after-date goodbye kisses and Zayn was forced to find a new roommate.

Between the moving boxes and the air riddled with excitement, Harry realized there wasn’t anyone else he wanted to wake up next to every morning. No one in the world that he could sit through breakfast with, listening to their snide comments and cleverly-timed jokes. He couldn’t imagine anyone else waiting up for him when he got off a late shift at work or curling up with on the couch to watch a movie on a Sunday afternoon. With Louis around, Harry couldn’t ask for a better partner in crime.


End file.
